County celebrates completion of WCR 49!

Posted on 11/13/2017

Two years ago, Weld County Government embarked on its most ambitious project to date – building a 20-mile, five-lane, concrete corridor to run north/south through the county. On Saturday, November 18, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. the official completion of this corridor will be celebrated at a public event to be held at the county’s Kersey Grader Shed, located at 23636 WCR 54 (just west of WCR 49).

“This is an exciting time for Weld County,” said Commissioner Chair Julie Cozad. “This project, which the county was able to pay for in cash, is completed on time and on budget, and it now provides an additional north/south route for travelers in the county.”

While improvements to WCR 49 had been on the county’s project list for years with county officials actively pursuing an access management plan on the corridor, it was the 2013 flood, which at one point closed most of the north/south roads in the county, that prompted the project to be done sooner rather than later and at an expedited pace.

“This corridor provides an alternative to Highway 85 and even I-25. These improvements ensure we have a road that will be an efficient and safe transportation corridor for the traveling public and our residents,” said Commissioner Mike Freeman, coordinator for the Public Works Department.

During the celebration event, commissioners will speak about the background of the corridor project as well as highlight some of the project’s interesting statistics including this: as of October 13, 2017, Interstate Highway Construction (the contractor for the project) and their subcontractors, material suppliers and vendors had injected over $10.7 million into the local economy.

“This is a project that will benefit Weld County residents for years to come,” said Cozad.